MP wants lie detectors in Family Court

An MP has called for compulsory lie detector tests for parents
facing the Family Law Court.

South Australian independent MP Ann Bressington says current
family law is a divisive "cash cow" that harms those it aims to
protect - children.

The federal government must intervene and rewrite the law, just
as it is acting to protect indigenous children in the Northern
Territory, Ms Bressington told AAP in Sydney, where she is
attending a Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission
conference.

"We have to ask why the Attorney-General (Philip Ruddock) and
the Prime Minister (John Howard) would be seen to support such a
dysfunctional (Family Law) Act when they can take the action they
did in the Northern Territory to supposedly protect Aboriginal
children," she said.

A draft bill to introduce polygraph (lie detector) tests for
individuals before Family Court proceedings would be introduced in
the South Australian parliament in the next session, said Ms
Bressington.

However, she said the use of polygraph tests needed to be
implemented federally.

"There is no recognition of perjury. A man or a woman can go
into a Family Law Court and lie about the conduct of their partner
and it can be proven to be false but there is no course of action
that's taken," Ms Bressington said.

"I believe the research and evidence to support the use of
polygraphing, not for court but pre-court is very strong. It has a
98 per cent accuracy ...

"If we can save resources in the social services departments and
thousands of hours spent by social workers investigating false
allegations ... that's a good thing."

Ms Bressington said the family law system was biased against
men, but children suffered too.

"On top of the dysfunctional family law system we have a
corrupted child protection agency.," she said.

"We have children being coerced in interviews to support false
allegations.

"It's a feeding ground, it's a cash cow, people are literally
striped of any assets and use it (the court) against one another,"
she said.

Ms Bressington said her main focus was on drug and alcohol
issues but through this she had experienced first hand the
difficulties people faced with family law.

In 2006 she introduced a bill calling for random drug testing of
SA school children.

She is the chief executive officer and founder of DrugBeat South
Australia, a treatment and rehabilitation centre.